The Tyrant Baru Cormorant
core novel 2020 The Masquerade
Record
| First published | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.30 (3,794 ratings, collected 2026-08-24) |
| Page count | 656 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765380760 |
Synopsis
The Tyrant Baru Cormorant continues Baru's story after years of service within the corrupt Imperial Republic of Falcrest, formerly known as the Masquerade, during which she has climbed close to the center of imperial power. Her latest discovery, a weaponized blood plague capable of devastating entire populations, forces her into a stark moral reckoning: she can use the weapon to pursue a genocidal revenge against the empire that destroyed her home, or she can attempt a far harder path toward a justice that does not require mass death. Navigating a widening conspiracy involving rival kings, spies, and figures who may be functionally immortal, Baru works to manipulate the outcome of two brewing wars and to amass the resources needed to force Falcrest to relinquish its colonies and answer for its crimes.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Masquerade
- Series: The Masquerade core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Seth Dickinson
Notes
- From the series record (The Masquerade): Geopolitical/economic epic fantasy following Baru Cormorant's infiltration of the Empire of Masks. A fourth and concluding novel has been discussed by the author since 2018 but remains unwritten and unannounced as of this research (2026); correctly excluded as unpublished.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Masquerade: position 3 of 3: previous The Monster Baru Cormorant (2018)
Sources
- https://www.sethdickinson.com/the-traitor-baru-cormorant/
- https://reactormag.com/baru-cormorant-fourth-novel-seth-dickinson-the-masquerade/
- https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/seth-dickinson/the-tyrant/9781529003284
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